Violence, drugs ... nothing new in Belltown

Police to address issue at Tuesday community forum

CASEY MCNERTHNE, Seattle Post-Intelligencer

By CASEY MCNERTHNEY, SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

Published 10:00 pm, Monday, June 21, 2010

Christopher Salindron, left, and Kris Rongen with the state Department of Corrections stop a man in the 2300 block of First Avenue in Seattle last fall. The man was found with heroin and arrested.
Photo: Casey McNerthney/seattlepi.com

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It was about 3:45 a.m. when a white Camaro rolled down the 500 block of Wall Street. A passenger pulled a .38-caliber silver revolver and fired, hitting one man in the neck. He was rushed to Harborview Medical Center, his life in question.

Nearly an hour earlier, a man had been knocked unconscious in the 2300 block of First Avenue after he and three others made cat calls at the suspect's girlfriend.

The incidents on Sunday -- two weeks after a 21-year-old was shot to death and another man was wounded in Belltown -- have sparked outrage from neighbors. On Monday, Interim Police Chief John Diaz met with Mayor Mike McGinn and discussed Belltown crime.

Police are expected to make an announcement by Friday regarding problems in Belltown -- possibly regarding additional police presence or a shift of officer locations.

Diaz said it's not a nightclub problem, rather an issue with people out after bars close.

Belltown Citizens on Patrol, a group that has been gathering for about a year with roughly 10 people patrolling the streets on weekly walks, organized a public safety forum on Tuesday.

"I think we clearly have a problem in Belltown with street disorder and violence," said City Councilman Tim Burgess, a former cop and head of the Public Safety and Education Committee. "It demands a response by city leaders, including elected officials, and our police commanders. We've allowed this environment to exist for too long."

A violent year

The morning of June 6, Steve Sok was approached by suspected gang members and one started talking trash, according to prosecutors. Police said he pulled up his shirt to reveal the butt of a pistol. The man fired eight shots.

Sok, 21, died at the scene; a 44-year-old was wounded, but recovered.

Though three suspects have been charged, prosecutors noted the shooting place on a crowded sidewalk near Second Avenue and Blanchard Street. And it occurred with two police officers nearby.

V-Bar Noodle Bar and Lounge -- a Belltown establishment near Second and Blanchard -- received a violation notice in March after police say the owner shot at a man who tried to stab her.

The violation for disorderly conduct, which was unrelated to the shooting this month, was issued by the State Liquor Control Board after the manager of the apartment building that also holds the V-Bar complained, according to the enforcement report.

Also in March, a woman was charged with assault, harassment, and first-degree criminal trespass after she told a Belltown officer "she knew why cops were killed" and promised to kill him, according to an incident report. In another incident, a man was beaten unconscious after making inappropriate comments to random people.

In April, charges were filed against two men who allegedly assaulted a Seattle police gang unit detective after he tried to prevent them from assaulting another man.

But violent crime in Belltown is nothing new.

A year ago, a large police operation busted Honduran drug dealers who had increased the crack market in Belltown. Brett Paulson, who helped organized Tuesday's meeting and Belltown Citizens On Patrol, said he hasn't seen those dealers back, "but the old guys returned and recruited some new people."

Nightclub problems debated before

In July 2007, a fight inside a former Belltown club, Tabella, spilled outside, and a woman was shot in the leg. That week, a City Council committee proposed regulations that would require nightclubs to get special licenses and operate within specific guidelines meant to reduce noise, litter and violence.

Two proposals from former Mayor Greg Nickels called for fines and other punishments, and would have established a nightlife advisory board. Members of the Belltown Community Council spoke out against the violence, but some nightclub owners said they were being unfairly targeted.

That September -- two days before the City Council was to vote on whether nightclubs with a capacity of 200 or more should get a city license -- Seattle's former police chief and city attorney announced results of a 10-day operation that led to the arrest of employees at 14 Seattle bars.

The operation spanned four neighborhoods, and four Belltown bars were targets of the operation, including Tabella Restaurant and Lounge -- the site of the July shooting and other violent incidents.

But many critics said the police operation was a waste. The effort cost more than $50,000, but of the more than two-dozen bar workers charged, none was convicted.

Then-City Attorney Tom Carr, who announced the operation with Seattle Police Chief -- and later Drug Czar -- Gil Kerlikowske, called the operation a success throughout the 2009 election.

Pete Holmes, who gained strong support from the nightlife community, trounced Carr in the election, taking more than 61 percent of the vote.

The nightclub license ordinance was not implemented.

'Time to step up'

Seattle police did not give specifics about the Belltown patrol, saying they would be addressed Tuesday night.

But their work includes undercover officers and foot patrols. On weekend nights, members of the gang unit often drive through the area.

The patrols include a group that's part of the Neighborhood Corrections Initiative, which combines Department of Corrections officers with Seattle police and local sheriff's deputies.

During the day, two Seattle police officers and a Department Corrections officer patrol the West Precinct, but spend most their time in Belltown. At night, one Seattle officer is paired with one DOC officer, who has more leeway in searching some offenders because of supervision conditions.

During the week, a team is on the streets by 4:30 a.m., rounding up people with warrants or violent histories before residents and businesspeople hit the streets. On Monday, the day team had contacted 39 people by 5 p.m. -- mostly in the Pike-Pine corridor.

The Belltown dynamic changes at night, which can be prime for opportunistic criminals, NCI supervisor Leslie Mills said.

Last week when announcing $12 million in cuts to the city's budget, Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn said he wants to leave vacant 21 sworn officer positions related to increased hiring for the neighborhood policing program

The mayor noted that would save $2.1 million, though City Council members have said hiring the new officers is a priority.

Brett Paulson, of Belltown Citizens On Patrol, said neighbors need to be engaged. He hopes the meeting -- an event organized months ago to address crack and prostitution problems -- will encourage thousands of Belltown's estimated 11,000 residents to come forward.

"The only way Belltown is going to survive is if everybody gets involved to do their fair share," he said. "As citizens, it's time to step up."